Hinge construction



Sept. 29, 1964 M. s. ELLIS ETAL HINGE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 12, 19s; 7

FIG. 2

1- a I I uvmvrons MARVIN G. ELLIS PETER P. NOWOSIELSKI M ATTORNEY Sept.29, 1964 M. G. ELLIS ETAL 3,150,659

HINGE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2 INVENTORSMARVIN G. ELLIS BY PETER P. NZWOSIELSKI ATTOPNEY United States Patent3,150,659 HINGE CONSTRUCTION Marvin G. Ellis, Clearwater, Fla., andPeter P.

Nowosielski, Milwaukee, Wis, assignors to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Filed July 12, 1961, Ser. No. 123,518 7 Claims.(Cl. 126194) This invention relates to door structures and moreparticularly to hinge mechanisms for the same.

While not limited thereto, this invention is particularly applicable tooven doors. In the main, oven doors are each hinged to swing about ahorizontal axis to a fully open position in which the door extendshorizontally outward from the oven. Cleaning the interior of an ovenwhile its door projects horizontally in this open position is difiicult.Stretching across the projecting door requires a reach longer than thatof the average housewife and consequently the further recesses of theoven may be omitted entirely or reached only by extreme effort. Further,the projecting edges of the door can inflict painful bruises on the bodyof the person attempting the cleaning.

To alleviate these difiiculties, various arrangements have been proposedfor the complete removal of the door. Prior art arrangements haverequired the insertion of stops against moving parts, removal of pinsand other steps preparatory to the actual removal. Only then could thedoor he removed and cleaning take place. When the door was to bereplaced, it had to be aligned properly on the hinges, replaced andlocked on the hinges. In many of these mechanisms, enameled parts of thedoor were subjected to undue stress and strain causing chipping ofenameled surfaces. Further, the fingers of the person handling the doorwere exposed to snap locks and other hazards.

It is felt that an ideal solution to the problem comprises a doorhinging arrangement in which the door is firmly locked to the hingemechanism for normal usage, but wherein removal of the door may beaccomplished in a single step comprising the simple slide withdrawal ofthe door from the hinge. The hinge mechanism after removal should remainin a position for accepting the return of the door thereto, so that norealignment of any consequence is necessary for the repositioning of thedoor. Further, the hinge mechanism should present a minimum hazard forthe fingers and body of the person handling and cleaning. It is feltthat the present invention meets these criteria.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the invention to provide in adoor pivotal about a horizontal axis, an in1- proved hinge mechanismwhich allows the door to be readily removed in a single step operation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a pivotal door which islocked to its hinge mechanism in all open positions past a slightly ajarposition.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improvedlinkage whereby the door hinge mechanism is suitably spring-biased toclose the door tightly against the adjacent door frame; the hingelinkage being productive of a leverage sufiicient to hold the hingelinkage in a predetermined position against the aforementioned bias evenwith the door removed from the hinge mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means which when thedoor has been removed is operative to maintain the hinges in a positionin which the door may be returned thereto by a simple manual effort3,150,659 Patented Sept. 29., 1964 not requiring the use of tools orspecial devices of any kind.

The invention both as to its organization and principle of operationtogether with further objects and advantages thereof, will best beunderstood by reference to the following specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side View of a typical range utilizing the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective View of the hinge mechanism and an internalperspective view of the door slideways.

FIGS. 3-6 are partial side sectional views of a door and oven to showthe mechanism clearly. FIG. 3 shows the door in the closed position.FIG. 4 shows the door and hinge in the ajar position permitting removalof the door. FIG. 5 shows the door in a fully open position. FIG. 6shows the hinge mechanism in the ajar position with the door removed.

FIG. 7 shows a detailed view of the lock or latch member employedherein.

FIG. 8 is a partial section taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 6 showing thepinched tips in greater detail.

In FIG. 1 is shown a typical range 10 having an oven cavity 11 with arectangular front opening defined by the frame structure 12. In theconventional range such as that shown, all external surfaces areporcelainized to protect against rust and corrosion.

The oven door 20 is preferably a door of the swingdown type which ispivotal about its lower axis. The door 2% comprises an inner panel 21and an outer panel 22 secured together by any conventional arrangement.Adjacent each lateral end, the inner panel has a vertically disposedelongated slot 24 extending into communication with an opening 25 in thebottom of the door. On the outer panel, any suitable handle 26 issecured to facilitate movement of the door between its vertical closedposition and a horizontal open position in which the inner panel of thedoor substantially constitutes a continuation of the lower wall of theoven cavity. In its open position, the door thus constitutes aconvenient shelf or landing space on which the housewife may setfoodstuffs prior to or following the cooking operation.

As previously noted, the door is arranged to be removed from its hingesunder certain conditions. In furtherance of this objective, within thedoor structure at its respective lower corners there is afiixed aslideway 28 (best shown in FIG. 2), comprising a closed rectangular bodyor channel of steel or other rigid structural material. Each slideway ispermanently alfixed within the door by riveting, welding, or by anyother appropriate manner which will secure the slideway against movementrelative to the door. A rear wall 28.1 of the slideway is adjacent tothe inner panel 21 of the door. A slot 28.2 in the rear wall is similarin length and width to the slot 24 in the inner door panel, and is inexact alignment therewith. Similarly, the open bottom of the slideway isequal in dimensions to the opening 25 in the bottom of the door and isin alignment therewith. Further, the front wall 29 of the slideway nearits lower end has a rectangular cutout 29.1, which is used to receivemeans for latching the door to the hinge mechanism as will be explainedmore fully. Across the sidewalls 30 of the slideway at a level below thesidewall upper edge there is riveted or otherwise suitably securedacross the slideway, a rod 30.1 which serves as a stop and positioningmember for the hinge mechanism as also will be explained more fully.

The door hinge mechanism includes individual hinge support members 32fixed to the oven frame structure 12 at each of the lower cornersthereof and projecting through appropriate openings therein. Pivotallyattached to the free end of each support member 32 by a hinge pin 34, isa hinge bracket assembly 33. Each bracket 33 is formed of two similarbut oppositely disposed rail members 35 and 36 assembled together andjoined at their upper end, as viewed in FIG. 2, to provide a shape whichgives to the hinge bracket a width and depth to allow each bracket tofit into smoothly fitting, slideable relationship within its associatedslideway 28. It will be understood that the opening 25 in the bottom ofthe oven door is adequate to receive the hinge bracket assembly withoutconflict and without the necessity on the part of the user precisely toalign the door openings with the bracket during the replacementoperation. It will be evident from FIG. 2 that the sloping shoulders ofthe bracket immediately below its upper extremity facilitate the guidingand consequent firm contacting of the respective door slideways intoslideable contact with the external Walls of the hinge brackets when thedoor is being replaced thereon.

Intermediate the ends of the hinge bracket but preferably relativelyclose to the upper end thereof, the bracket rails are constrictedinwardly to receive between them the door counterbalance arm 37. Thecounterbalance arm is pivotally secured at its outer end to the bracketas by the pivot roller or pin 38 spaced a substantial distance above thebracket hinge pin 34. As is well known in the art, the counterbalancearm 37 extends through a suitable elongated slot 42 in the frame 12 andat its innermost end is associated with a spring 39 anchored at asuitable location within the range body. The counterbalance arm 37 isarranged to ride upon a detent roller 40 which may conveniently bemounted within the range body by means of a suitable triangular bracket41 comprising an element of the frame structure 12. Arm 37 is formedintermediately along its lower surface with a nose 44 which affords ademarcation between a sloping face 45 which, as shown in FIG. 3, engageswith the roller 40 to establish the door in its closed position, and adepressed portion 46 which, as shown in FIG. 4, establishes the door ina partially open position. It will be understood that the nose of thecounterbalance arm does not impose any great restraint against theoperation of the door to its full opening position, as indicated in FIG.6. The position of depressed portion 46 is so related to the weightdistribution of the door when in the ajar position that the line ofeffort of the spring 39 is sufficient to maintain the door in an ajarposition. It should be noted that the lever distance between the pivotpoint 34 and the connection point 38 of the counterbalance arm 37 issufficiently great to maintain the counterbalance arm in a substantiallyhorizontal plane (FIG. 4) with the door in the ajar position. With arm37 in this position, the horizontal component of force effected byspring 39 is comparatively small so that the closing force on the dooris also comparatively small. In an electric range, broiling operationsare carried out with the door in this ajar position. In gas ranges,however, it is not necessary to maintain the door ajar while broiling.Therefore, as respects the present invention, which is applicable toboth gas and electric ranges, the position of the depressed portion 46is such that the door is in an angular position rendering it convenientto be handled when the door is to be removed from or replaced on thehinge brackets.

Within the hinge bracket rails adjacent the hinge support there issecured the hinge-to-door latch member 50 shown in detail in FIG. 7.This member 50 is pivoted near its lower end to both side rails by meansof a suitable pivot rod 52. The latch or look member is substantiallyupright as fitted within the bracket and has at its uppermost end afinger 54 extending in the direction away from adjacent door frame. Themember includes a second arm 56 intermediate along its vertical lengthwhich extends toward the door frame 12 and includes a circular openingfor receiving one end 58 of tension spring 60. The other end 62 of thetension spring is secured to an emboss 64 in one guide rail and ispositioned about at the center of the guide rail. In this way the latchmember is biased in a direction calculated to force the latch member ina direction away from the oven frame. To restrain the latch from thismotion, the lock member has at its lower end a detent 66 which extendstoward and in some positions engages the adjacent sector of the hingesupport 32.

At its outermost end, the hinge support 32 is notched to form the camsurface 68 evident in FIGS. 3 through 6. This cam surface is designed tomate with detent 66 while the door or hinge bracket is open to the ajarposition or less open. With the door fully closed, as shown in FIG. 3,cam 68 rotates the lock member against the bias of spring to a positionfreeing finger 54 from engagement with the lock member 29.1 of theadjacent slideway. With the hinge bracket in the ajar position, the lockfinger 54- is allowed to pivot slightly but not sufficiently to enterthe adjacent notch 29.1 in the slideway structure (FIG. 4). With thedoor and hinge bracket in positions more fully open than the ajarposition, the cam surface 68 releases the detent 66 and the tensionspring 60 pivots the member 50 so that finger 54 extends past the siderails and penetrates notch 29.1 in the slideway, thereby locking thedoor to the hinge bracket (FIG. 5).

To remove the door from the hinge bracket, the door is opened to theajar position of FIG. 4. In this position, the lock finger 54 ismaintained out of engagement with the adjacent slideway notch by the camsurface 68 and there is no interference with the slide removal of thedoor up the plane of the hinge bracket. The hinge bracket is held in theajar position by the contact of counter-balance armdepressed section 46with roller 40. Further, it can be seen that the angle of counterbalancespring to the counterbalance arm produces a comparatively smallcomponent of horizontal force tending to draw the hinge bracket into theclosed position. Thus, the hinge bracket will remain in the oblique ajarposition and the door may be slid up the plane of the bracket untilclear of the bracket assembly. The bracket assembly is then retained inthe ajar position awaiting the return of the door.

If, by chance, the hinge bracket is jostled when the door has beenremoved from the bracket, the counterbalance arm spring will draw thebracket toward the closed position but without sufficient horizontalforce to cause the bracket to slam home against the door frame. Further,the inner lower edge of the hinge bracket includes the constricted tips70 of both rail guides so that the constriction will strike the top ofhinge support 32 when the bracket reaches the door closed position ofFIG. 3. These constricted tips may be pinned together (as shown in FIG.8) to prevent spreading with use. In FIG. 3, it can be seen that thepinched tips are in contact with the top surface of the hinge supportand the hinge bracket cannot close further. Naturally, with the door onthe bracket, this contact position is the fully closed position of thedoor. With the door removed, the hinge bracket can only travel to aposition adjacent but not touching the door frame. Thus, it can be seenthat the hinge bracket is not sufficiently biased to slam home andcannot directly contact the door frame. By this construction, the doorframe will not be chipped by the bracket striking the door frame andalso the hands of a person cleaning the door frame are not subject tothe danger of jammed fingers.

If the bracket assembly is restored to the closed position with the doorremoved, it can readily be drawn back to the ajar position against thebias of spring 39 to remain in position facilitating return of the door.

When the door is to be returned to the hinge brackets, the openings 25in the bottom of the door are aligned with the hinge brackets and thedoor is lowered onto the brackets in telescoping relation. The doorcontinues downwardly until the lateral rod 30.1 of the slideway contactsthe matching concavity 33.1 in the bracket top edge. This matchingrelationship and .the slight taper of the bracket to fit the slidewaymaintains the door to the hinge in firm non-rattling relation. Theweight of the door tends to hold the door in the ajar position until thedoor is restored to the closed position.

Recapitulating, there is provided a door-to-hinge latch operative in allpositions more fully open than the ajar position used for broiling. Thelatch releases in the ajar position to allow the door to be removed fromthe hinge bracket in the ajar position. The counterbalance arm will tendto hold the hinge bracket in the ajar position when the door is removedfrom the bracket. The relationship of the counterbalance arm to thehinge bracket provides a lever distance which cannot generate sufficientforce to slam the hinge bracket toward the door frame if inadvertentlyjostled. Further, the inner edges of both hinge bracket rails areconstricted to engage the stationary hinge support before the hingebracket will strike adjacent door frame, thus preventing direct contactbetween the hinge bracket and the door frame. And with the door on thehinge bracket, the mating parts form a tight fit firmly holding the doorto the hinge mechanism.

While there has been described what is at present thought to be thepreferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that it isintended to cover in the appended claims all modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for hinging a door removably to a door frame structureWhere said structure surrounds an opening to be covered by said door,said mechanism comprising a stationary hinge support adapted to extendfrom said frame structure, a hinge bracket pivotally secured to saidhinge support to maintain said'bracket substantially adjacent to saiddoor frame structure in a closed door position, a channel frame adaptedto be secured within said door for telescopic relationship about saidbracket for rendering said door pivotally cooperative with said hingebracket from said closed position through a plurality of partially openpositions to a fully open position, means for holding said bracket in apredetermined partially open position, said channel frame slideablyremovable from said hinge bracket in said predetermined position, saidbracket holding means balanced to hold said door in said partially openposition with the door removed, a stop member on said hinge support toimpede movement of said hinge bracket upon release of said holding meansand thereby adapted to hold said bracket spaced from said framestructure.

2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which said hinge bracketcomprises vertically extending parallel rail members spaced apart topivot about said hinge support, pinched together tips of said railsadjacent said support stop member whereby said tips impinge against saidstop member on release of said holding means for cooperatively stoppingsaid bracket from further motion toward said door frame structure.

3. A mechanism for hinging a door removably to a frame structure wheresaid structure forms an opening to be covered by said door, saidmechanism comprising a hinge support adapted to extend rigidly from saidstructure, a hinge bracket pivotal about the free end of said hingesupport, an open rectangular structure adapted to be secured Within saiddoor and shaped to telescope tightly about said bracket whereby saiddoor is rendered pivotal by said hinge bracket from a closed positioncovering said opening through an arc to a fully open position, latchmeans pivotal within said bracket, bias means for pivoting said latchmeans in a direction away from said frame structure upon movement ofsaid door toward the fully open position, latch receiving means in saidrectangular structure receptive of said latch means on said pivoting forlatching said door to said bracket in the fully open position, a lateralcross member in said rectangular structure, and a concave upperextremity on said bracket for mating with said cross member for tightlyholding said bracket within said structure.

4. A mechanism for removably mounting a door relative to a verticalopening in a compartment to be closed by said door, said mechanismincluding a fixed support member adapted to be carried by a wall of saidcompartment near the lower end of the opening thereof, a hinge bracketpivotally secured to said support member, a sleeve adapted to be carriedby said door in fixed relation to a side wall thereof for slidingtelescopic engagement with said bracket, a detent member pivotallymounted on said bracket, said member having first structure at one endthereof for engagement with said sleeve to secure the same to saidbracket at certain angular relations of said bracket to said supportmember, spring means for biasing said detent member into rotation toeffect such engagement, and second structure on said detent memberengageable with said fixed support member at other angular positions ofsaid bracket relative to said support member to disengage said firstnamed detent structure from said sleeve to release the same for removalfrom said bracket member.

5. A mechanism for removably mounting a door relative to a verticalopening in a compartment to be closed by said door, said mechanismincluding a fixed support member adapted to be carried by a wall of saidcompartment near an end of the opening thereof, a hinge bracketpivotally secured to said support member, said bracket comprising a pairof wall members disposed in parallel spaced relation, a sleeve adaptedto be carried by said door in fixed relation to a side wall thereof forsliding telescopic engagement over said bracket wall members, a detentmember pivotally mounted within said bracket, said detent member havingat one end thereof a first projection facing away from said supportmember and at the opposite end thereof a second projection facing towardsaid support member, spring means between said detent member and saidbracket for rotating said member to lock said first projection to saidsleeve to secure the same to said bracket at certain angular relationsof said bracket to said support member, means on said support memberengageable with said second projection to disengage said firstprojection from said sleeve at other angular relations of said bracketand support member, means for biasing said bracket int-o rotation towardsaid cabinet opening, and means on said bracket engageable with otherportions of said support member to limit the said rotation.

6. Mechanism as recited in claim 5, in which the rotation limiting meanscomprises an abutment on said bracket formed by bending portions of thewall members thereof into engagement one with the other.

7. A mechanism for removably mounting a door relative to a vertical openend of a compartment to be closed by said door, said mechanism includinga fixed bracket adapted to be carried by a wall of said compartment nearthe lower end thereof, a roller adapted to be carried by said wall, acore, means hingedly securing the lower end of said core to saidbracket, a lever, means pivotally connecting one end of said lever tosaid core at a point spaced from said lower end thereof, a tensionspring connected to the other end of said lever, a sleeve adapted to becarried by said door and detachably engageable with said core, a camcarried by the underside of said lever and movable into engagement withsaid roller and adapted to hold said door in a predetermined, partlyopen position, there being an opening in a wall of said sleeve, anormally vertically disposed latch pivoted, intermediate its ends tosaid core and rotatable to a first position in which the upper end ofsaid latch engages said opening and prevents 7 8 movement of said sleeverelative to said core, and to a at said predetermined position and in anengaged position second position in which said upper end 'of said latchis when the door is moved in an opening direction beyond out ofengagement with said opening and said sleeve is said predeterminedposition. freely movable relative to said core, a spring normallybiasing said latch to one of said positions, a fixed cam on 5 ReferencesCited in the file of this Patent said bracket and engageable with saidlatch means and UNITED STATES PATENTS determining said latch meansposition relative to said opening o that said latch means is out ofengagement 3003495 Coultnp 1961

1. A MECHANISM FOR HINGING A DOOR REMOVABLY TO A DOOR FRAME STRUCTUREWHERE SAID STRUCTURE SURROUNDS AN OPENING TO BE COVERED BY SAID DOOR,SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A STATIONARY HINGE SUPPORT ADAPTED TO EXTENDFROM SAID FRAME STRUCTURE, A HINGE BRACKET PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAIDHINGE SUPPORT TO MAINTAIN SAID BRACKET SUBSTANTIALLY ADJACENT TO SAIDDOOR FRAME STRUCTURE IN A CLOSED DOOR POSITION, A CHANNEL FRAME ADAPTEDTO BE SECURED WITHIN SAID DOOR FOR TELESCOPIC RELATIONSHIP ABOUT SAIDBRACKET FOR RENDERING SAID DOOR PIVOTALLY COOPERATIVE WITH SAID HINGEBRACKET FROM SAID CLOSED POSITION THROUGH A PLURALITY OF PARTIALLY OPENPOSITIONS TO A FULLY OPEN POSITION, MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID BRACKET IN APREDETERMINED PARTIALLY OPEN POSITION, SAID CHANNEL FRAME SLIDEABLYREMOVABLE FROM SAID HINGE BRACKET IN SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION, SAIDBRACKET HOLDING MEANS BALANCED TO HOLD SAID DOOR IN SAID PARTIALLY OPENPOSITION WITH THE DOOR REMOVED, A STOP MEMBER ON SAID HINGE SUPPORT TOIMPEDE MOVEMENT OF SAID HINGE BRACKET UPON RELEASE OF SAID HOLDING MEANSAND THEREBY ADAPTED TO HOLD SAID BRACKET SPACED FROM SAID FRAMESTRUCTURE.